


When You Come By Things the Hard Way (You Learn How to Hold on Tight)

by stateofgrace



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Episode Related, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-11
Updated: 2011-12-11
Packaged: 2017-10-27 05:24:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/292069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stateofgrace/pseuds/stateofgrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even as his muscles screamed in silent protest, Steve returned the embrace and decided this moment was worth the physical pain. That when you come by things the hard way, you learn how to hold on tight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You Come By Things the Hard Way (You Learn How to Hold on Tight)

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in quite a while, and this one just sort of came to me. A tag to Steve's rescue in North Korea during 2.10.

Steve remembers being told – perhaps since grade school – that if he’d wanted to live a successful life, he would have to do well in school. It was drilled into him from an early age, that in order to get to college he’d have to be a good person. Treat others with kindness. Be respectful. Try hard. Be a team player. So he did, and he was. And the hard work paid off.

The day the acceptance letter came from Annapolis, he’d dropped into the freshly mowed grass outside, took a deep breath and clutched it in his hand like he was never going to let go.

…

Steve can still recall the start of Hell Week, the memories so vivid it’s like he’d woken up just yesterday to the cyclic rate of fire from a Mark-43. Pushups. Flutter kicks. Squats. Sit-ups. Running. Surf torture. Log PT. An endless, vicious cycle. He remembers the warrant officer who pulled him aside, invaded his personal space and barked, “Lead from the front or get the hell out of the way!” And Steve never had to be told again that leadership is placed at the heart of an officer’s duty.

What he remembers most of all is that the class graduation was spartan, but Steve will never forget standing in starched fatigues in some nondescript concrete bay while a golden Trident was pinned over his heart. He held it close as the survivors of BUD/S class 203 ran down the pier and jumped into the bay, no longer trainees but now Navy SEALS.

…

Steve still has dreams about lying in a hammock flying into Afghanistan, the webbing hung from two carabineers that were clipped to the metal wall of the aircraft. The cargo plane was nothing more than a maze of men and boxes packed with gear, descending into a land littered with unexploded ordnance and ruled by vicious tyranny. He’ll never stop hearing the roar of laughter – a group of commandos letting go of the tension – before that plane hit the ground. If there were ever good memories of the ‘Stan to cling to, that was one of them.

…

Steve thinks about it now, as the helo lifts free of the ground in North Korea, how his family has changed over the last two decades. How losing his parents had made him a beacon of strength and maturity. How joining the Navy had given him brothers-in-arms forever linked by the training they’d endured. But it was Five-0, Steve knew as he looked around the chopper, that he’d always be able to count on. He could feel it in Joe’s grip on his shoulder. He could see it in the knowing look in Chin’s eyes and the soft warmth of Lori’s smile. But mostly he could feel it in Danny’s fingers – the way they pulsed as they squeezed Steve’s hand. The way Danny’s mouth curved into just a hint of a smile as Steve gifted him with a goofy grin. The peace that washed over him, the ease of surrender as Danny helped him from the chopper and wrapped him in a hug.

Even as his muscles screamed in silent protest, Steve returned the embrace and decided this moment was worth the physical pain. That when you come by things the hard way, you learn how to hold on tight.


End file.
